Table of Contents:

Sr.NO 1 2 3 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 4 5 6 7 7.1 7.2 Sub No Name Of the Topic Introduction: Contextual Background Objective of Report Literature Review Books Internet References Journals Magazines Analysis of Both Views Conclusion Recommendations Bibliography Books and Magazines Internet References Page NO 3 5 6 6 8 9 12 14 15 16 17 17 17

Globalization- Global Managers: A Myth or Reality

Introduction: Contextual Background
Contrary to popular beliefs Globalization is not a modern phenomenon, infact it had its roots in the process of Colonization which was the territorial conquest of regions in all continents by the Europeans namely Portuguese, English, French, Dutch, Spanish. Globalization in a literal sense means international (economic, financial, trade & communications) integration. From a firms point of view it can also be explained as globalization today means that a company is competing in the domestic market and protecting its turf from international players making an entry. Alternatively, it is the same company foraying into international market. International Monetary Fund defines Globalisation as The growing economic interdependence of countries worldwide through increasing volume & variety of cross border transactions in goods and services & of international capital flows & also through the more rapid & widespread diffusion of technology. Charles Hill who has written extensively about globalisation defines it as The shift towards a more integrated & interdependent world economy. The word global is sometimes used as a synonym for international, however such usage is typically incorrect as global implies one world as a single unit, while international recognizes that different peoples, cultures, languages, nations, borders, economies, and ecosystems exist. People like Dicken and Sklair have argued that there is a shift in organization, but as a continuing process where Globalization is a recent phenomenon. I disagree with it as I feel that the term Globalization is a recently defined word but the process has been going on since the past 4-5 centuries. Globalization received an impetus and grew out due to the collapse of Global Communism with all of its economic controls & out of the developing countries discovery that shunning foreign investment meant economic suicide (McCormick 2000). The term globalization was first used in 1985 by Theodore Levitt in the globalization of markets Levitt used the term to characterize the vast changes that have taken place over the past two decades in the international economy- the rapid and pervasive diffusion around the world of production, consumption and investment of goods , services , capital and technology. (John Wiley et. al. 1985) According to me a global manager is the one who manages across distance, countries & cultures. At the core of a global manager is personal maturity and the maturity comprises of discipline, focus, respect for the cultural differences, ability to manage own's growth in the highly competitive atmosphere and emotional intelligence. (http://www.tata.com/company/Media/inside.aspx?artid=ztSzvbxZXsc=) While top performance usually is what gets global managers their international assignments, soft skills may be more important. Many organizations still struggle to find managers who are comfortable and effective in the increasingly global economy. Most suffer

both from a lack of cultural awareness when dealing with employees and partners overseas and from a lack of experience managing increasingly complex processes over long distances. (Rifkin, 2006). There are certain myths which are theoretically considered about global managers. These are:
Myth1: Global managers are an elite core of specialists at the top of the company. Myth2: To get global exposure, you need to work overseas. Myth3: Networking with the expatriate community is critical. Myth4: You shouldn't take an overseas assignment until you have enough seniority to make a difference.

Objective of Report:

This report has been compiled with the purpose of getting information about globalization and global managers and with the help of various books, journal articles, internet references & theories & views of various authors coming to the conclusion regarding the term global managers, whether it is a myth or a reality.

Literature Review:

Books

International Business Dr Chandran Globalisation occurs because specific managers in specific companies make decisions that result in the increased cross border flow of capital, goods & know-how. Managers are increasingly making such decisions because globalisation is becoming more feasible & desirable. This book talks about the role managers play in making companies global. The authors are of the view that individuals are very important in shaping up the global ambition of any company. I feel that the author is right. A visionary is needed to expand any firm beyond the national border. It is not an easy job as many factors have to be considered while going global so someone who has to study all these factors, their feasibilities and according to them has to take a decision. Normally these are done by the manager.

Essentials of Management Andrew Durbin The Global leader manages across distance, country & cultures. To be effective as a global leader, the manager must inspire others, such as getting workers in another country excited about the future of the MNC. A global manager must show good initiative & be oriented towards success.

The author is talking about managerial workers that occupying leadership positions needing to develop global leadership skills, the ability to effectively lead people of other cultures. The initiative and leadership skills are perhaps the most important skills according to me that a global manager has to have in order to lead and develop a sync with the employees internationally. One has to inspire more internationally than domestically due to the cultural difference factors & also as the employees might not feel a connection in working with a foreign country.

Management: A Global & Entrepreneurial Perspective Heinz Weirich Managers involved in international business are faced with many factors that are different from those of the domestically oriented firms. They have to interact with employees who have different educational & cultural backgrounds, they even have to cope with different legal, political & economical factors. This book is about the study of global management focusing on the operations of the internationals and is concerned with the managerial issues related to the flow of people, goods & money with the ultimate aim of managing better in situations that involve crossing national borders. It is of utmost importance that global managers really learn the various cultural & educational backgrounds that their international employees come from; this will help them understand the thinking & the views of their employees better and thus they can relate to their views too.

Management: Successfully managing in todays global environment will require incredible sensitivity & understanding. Managers need to be aware of how their decisions and actions will be viewed, not only by those who will agree, but more importantly, by those who will disagree. The book is talking about the serious challenges that come from the intense underlying and fundamental cultural differences that encompass traditions, history, religious beliefs & deep seated values. Even I think that it is really important that the global managers first try to analyze how their decisions will be perceived and think about the consequences of their actions before taking those as the people from different cultural backgrounds might view them in an entirely different context.

The New Era of Management: Richard L.Daft To be effective on an international level, managers need to interpret the culture of the country & organization in which they are working & develop the sensitivity required to avoid making costly cultural blunders. The book talks about how global managers should behave in different cultures & how the natives will interpret and perceive his actions and decisions from many examples enlisted in this section of the book. I completely agree with the authors view & its of utmost importance that global managers take effort to understand the sensitive points of any culture so that even by mistake they dont hurt the sentiments of the people.

Internet References:

Qualities of a Global Manager: Global leaders must be realistic and face the hard truth. The ability to see through things and prepare for the future is what is needed. It's important that you know where you stand today, where you want to go and how to get there. This article talks about the mental understanding the global managers need to have. It emphasizes on this point by taking the examples of Azim Premji in a global context. I somewhat agree to the point the article has mentioned. I feel that preparing for the future, facing the situations head on is something that every manager should do & not just the global managers.

Global manager: A myth or reality? Speaking to FE, R Gopalakrishnan, executive director, Tata Sons Ltd said that global managers are made not through inherent quality but ones which are acquired. There are three or four criteria which make global managers. They are the awareness of the world beyond your realm, need to gain exposure, comprehension of the fact that the information is relevant for me as well and conviction. This article was also published in the Financial Express. It goes on to explain the qualities needed & how one becomes a global manager.

One really has to agree with the above statement, experience will no doubt be the chisel will shape the global manager, it will be a process rather than an event. Also awareness, exposure & analyzing power will certainly help him to judge things & make decisions more appropriately.

International human resource management: managing people in a multinational: Multinationals depend on being able to develop a pool of international operators from which they can draw as required. Such individuals have been variously labelled International Managers or Global Managers This article talks about the definition of global manager/ international manager, and then goes on to discuss the myth largely associated or perceived regarding global managers. I disagree with the statement quoted regarding global managers as I find that just operating internationally in an managerial position does not makes one a global manager, but rather there are a skill set that should be present in the candidate.

Journals:

International Journal of Organizational Innovation: A challenging area for global managers is the encoding and decoding of messages so that their original meaning is interpreted in the correct way. Global managers are required to consider the number and languages of the nations they shall be working with and the degree of interaction with host country nationals. Global managers are required to step outside of their culture and see it from the perspective of a non home-country national. This article sheds light on the communication transactions that will take place in a global corporation & how this can be a genuine problem, how global managers should tackle this and ensure that such situations are avoided. In my view different interpretations of communicated messages can lead to confusion which in turn gives birth to chaos. The global manager as he will be in the forefront of many of these communications should have proper interpretation skills and should have a logical mind so that even if a confusion is born he can subdue it before it starts creating chaos.

The Care and Breeding of Global Managers: Some companies believe that the only way to cultivate a global manager is to let him/her conduct business in as many foreign milieus as possible. Others think a global manager is merely a person with a global perspective, which can be developed almost as easily in a training class as in a foreign outpost. This article states the different views about the birth and growth of a global manager, and then goes on to define a global manager as a global manager is someone with a strong interest in and tolerance for other cultures and who understands how a particular decision might affect a company's many markets or competitors around the world. I dont disagree with the view that conducting business in many foreign countries will develop global managers, but I agree more with the view that a person with a global perspective can also become a good global manager.

The Qualities a Global Manager: One of the most important qualities of a global manager is the ability to be flexible enough to understand how things are done in a culture other than his own. When you work with people from many countries, you need to open your mind to new possibilities and new ways of thinking. You may not necessarily adopt those ways, but you need to at least be able to listen and consider an alternate point of view. The article opinions that as a company goes global it will need managers that are comfortable with international responsibilities. & it states the basic qualities that are essential for a global manager like ambition, enthusiasm, teamwork, flexibility, breadth of interest, computer savvy, language skills, willingness to travel. Yes, in the due course of operations the global manager will no doubt have to show that is flexible enough to not only open his mind for new ideas & ways but also to implement the different cultural based alternate solutions that his experts from the host country will give him.

Global managers' career competencies: Adler and Bartholomew; Bartlett and Ghoshal ; Kedia and Mukherji ; Pucik and Saba define a global manager to be a manager "having a position with worldwide coordination responsibility", "understanding business from a worldwide perspective", "balancing local and potentially contradictory demands in the global environment" and "being able to work with multiple cultures simultaneously". Although these descriptions were presented more than a

decade ago, empirical research on this increasingly relevant type of international work remains lacking, neither refining the original discussions nor giving advice to practitioners. The article states the various definations of a global manager given by various authors & sources; & states that global manager is a area where more research has to be done as the present definitions and the theories we have on it are not adequate for a study or for implementation practically. I dont completely agree with the above definitions as I find them hugely incomplete, each definition alone doesnt define the role & responsibilities of a global manager completely, but they are right in parts.

European leadership in globalization:

Percy Barnevik, president and CEO of Asea Brown Boveri (ABB), responded whenasked if there is such a thing as a global manager as Global managers are made, not born. This is not a natural process. We are herd animals. We like people who are like us. But there are many things you can do. Obviously, you rotate people around the world. There is no substitute for line experience in three or four countries to create a global perspective. You also encourage people to work in mixed nationality teams. You force them to create personal alliances across borders, which means that sometimes you interfere in hiring decisions. The article speaks about how global managers need to acknowledge cultural differences without getting paralyzed by them. With the help of examples it goes on to explain why a global manager needs to broaden their understanding sphere. I agree with the fact that a global manager is not born but rather made. As global managers need to understand a lot of cultures, educational background, the way of thinking of people of different regions and so on, these are not the qualities that one has from birth but these have to be inculcated through experience.

Six Traits of Global Managers: There are 6 mandates global managers need to follow in order to successfully respond to business forces. The 1st is to develop a shared vision and strategy. The 2nd mandate is to prompt the organization to respond to changes. The 3rd mandate is to expect continuous improvement. The 4th mandate is to develop a multicultural perspective. The 5th mandate is to empower individual employees to accept more responsibility, and the 6th is to build team performance. This article talks about the steps a global manager must take in order to carry out his responsibilities perfectly like they must motivate their key people now that the promotion track

has slowed down considerably. They must be empathetic, innovative team builders who know how to focus their people on continuous learning, offer lateral transfers overseas or to other functions, and encourage attendance in management development programs. I feel this 6 point program will act as a catalyst for improving the global managers role just like how the 6 sigma proved revolutionary in the productions. If implemented properly it will prove very useful for the global manager and also the organization.

What is a Global Manager? In the world of volatile transnationals, there is no such thing as a Universal Global Manager. Rather there three different groups of specialists: Business managers, country managers & functional managers. The article further carries this point forward and goes on to emphasize that the top management must identify & develop the above mentioned three kinds of specialists executives. I dont agree with the above view. Yes, a transnational can certainly have the three different specialists but all three in the broader term will be global managers or rather there will certainly be managers who can handle the three specializations themselves & these kind will be a true unarguable global managers.

Magazines:

The global manager: Anusha Subramanian (Business Today: July 2008) For most managers, the first challenge in their global journey is to understand local cultural nuances and ensure relevant adaptability of approach. It is imperative to be sensitive to and respectful of cultural diversity, says Natrajan. Industry players say that true global managers adopt a consumercentric approach when it comes to running overseas operations. This magazine article names the global manager of Indian origin who have successfully managed to become a true global manager and have helped their company grow as a international organization. As said earlier I am a firm believer that understanding the culture and being sensitive to their beliefs is the key to becoming a respected global manager.

The End Is Where We Start From: Aroon Purie (Business today: Jan 2011) The end of the developed world's dominance is where an opportunity for development start from. So what if infrastructure is still poor - somebody has got to build it. And that in itself is a trillion-dollar opportunity. No manager worth his MBA degree would want to miss out on such excitement. That is why so many Indians who fled to the West prereforms are returning in droves - don't miss our section on the Prodigals. It can't be just a longing for home: successful global managers go where the growth is, and where it is likely to be next. That also explains why foreign CEOs not of Indian origin, too, are eager for postings in India. The article is an editorial which explains the Indian perspective for the global business and how the ongoing decade has the ability to make India a economic superpower, it also explains the ambitions of Indian global managers. I agree with the article that global managers due to their worldwide contacts and dealings will have an idea where there are better opportunities and no doubt will try to take advantage of those.

Global Manager: The Needed Skills G.P.Sudhakar (BusinessGyan Jan-06) There are basic skills needed by a global manager. Leadership Skills, Mentoring Skills, Communication Skills, Presentation Skills, Marketing Skills are compulsory for a global manager. The global manager should be committed towards deliverables. He should always try to get good customer satisfaction index and to make customer delight. A global manager should be aware of social, political, technological and economic environment of his business. He should be aware of the companys internal strengths and weaknesses. He should also be aware of the external opportunities and threats for his business. The article talks about the various skills required for a global manager, it further points out that there is lot of need for developing soft skills and conceptual skills for a global manager. I agree that the skills like communication, soft & conceptual skills are must for a global manager not only for his/he growth but also for the basic purpose of survival. Also the knowledge of the companies strength, weaknesses, characteristics & preferences are a must.

Analysis of both views:

"Globalization is a myth; it never really occurred anyway. The vast majority of manufacturing and service activity is organized regionally, not globally. Multinational enterprises are the engines of international business-- and they think regionally and act locally. There are three regional groupings, a triad, composed of North America (principally the United States), the European Union, and Japan. Within each of these regional groupings, trade is dominated by the multinational enterprises peculiar to it. There are virtually no truly global businesses, he claims, for even giants such as McDonald's and Coca-Cola tailor their products to the local market. Consumer electronics and high value-- added goods with low transportation costs are the only exceptions. (Rugman) Although Rugman makes a strong case about the products & services being local rather than truly global, I disagree with his views. The local rather than global thing exists but it really Glocal & that is according to me is global first and then modified according to the local environment, culture or needs. And as far as Globalization being a myth is concerned the world has gone from being perceived as a square to being proved spherical & now has come to a point where it figuratively it has become flat, and that is a direct effect of globalization not just in a business context but on the whole.

To be entirely true in this day & age the myths widely considered about global managers doesnt fall into practice. The actual realities regarding these myths are that companies dont just consider the top elite core but also the talented middle level people. Its not necessary that one needs to work in an foreign company to get global exposure, working in a firm that is involved in global operations also helps us get global exposure. Any networking

has the potential to help individuals grow intellectually and behaviorally. Its not necessary to get years of experience before going on a global stage, on the contrary starting early on a global stage will help u develop and grow.

I strongly feel that Global Managers are the way forward. Global Managers will the agent which will take the global economies to new horizons in the foreseeable future. No matter how big a company is domestically, to grow it has to expand beyond territorial borders. & in doing this the leaders who can take the initiative of expanding the company will normally go on to become the global managers. The 3 main qualities that will make a successful global manager are: (1) a belief that differences matter; (2) openness to new and different ideas; and (3) cognitive complexity, or the ability to focus on both the "hard" and "soft" metrics in an organizationthe hard quantitative side along with the softer, people side. These three success factors provide a useful framework for prospective global managers to use as they assess their skills and their preparedness for their new assignment. (Rifkin 2006)

Conclusion:

After reading various journals, magazines & books on globalization and global managers in general, I firmly believe that Global Managers exist & they are the instruments that take international companies to greater heights. Global Managers are not born but made. Every global manager has to understand the culture of the country, the educational background of the people to survive, also a knowledge of the perceptions & the views of the people working under him & the customers will help him & the organization grow.

Recommendations:

International companies should recognise managerial talents early in their career & give them foreign & international exposure so that they gain valuable exposure in global operations which will widen their thinking & help them understand various cultures. Companies should encourage their global manager candidates & talents to learn new languages and the way operations are handled in foreign economies. The global managers must on focus on understanding the cultural sensitivity.

Bibliography:
Books & Magazines:
10 Myths about globalization (Addressed by Richard McCormick, VP, International Chamber of Commerce) Delivered to the Annual Meeting 2000

The Soft Skills of Global Managers Glenn Rifkin - Harvard Management Update Vol.11 no.3 , March 2006

The new Era of Management: Richard L.Daft 2006- South-western Cengage learning, p143

Challenging the myth of industrial Obsolescence, New York, John Wiley & sons;1985 pg no 5368)

International Business - Dr.Chandran - pg no 105

Essential of Management 7th Edition - Andrew Durbin -pg 41

Management - A Global & Entrepreneurial Perspective - Heinz Weihrich - pg 55

Internet:
International 2010): 6-20. Journal of Organizational Innovation: (Online) Hitakornkijsil, Pranee.3.2 (Fall

http://search.proquest.com/abicomplete/docview/235205578/1326D72C86061BE872B/11?accou ntid=39527

The qualities a global manager (Tribune Business News [Washington] 17 Mar 2009.) http://search.proquest.com/abicomplete/docview/464849353/132768E30783F0374B8/4?accounti d=39527

What is a Global Manager? (Bartlett C. & Ghohal S. 1992) http://www.lonerganpartners.com/files/assets/docs/What%20is%20a%20Global%20Manager%2 0HBS%202003.pdf

Global managers' career competencies:

http://search.proquest.com/abicomplete/docview/219361658/1327B101E407294BC7C/6?accoun tid=39527

European leadership in globalization:

http://search.proquest.com/abicomplete/docview/225426131/1327D0B3F70577CFC7C/3?accountid=39527

Six Traits of Global Managers - Sullivan, Paul- Leadership Excellence, sep 1992 http://search.proquest.com/docview/204626652?accountid=39527

Global manager: A myth or reality? http://www.tata.com/company/Media/inside.aspx?artid=ztSzvbxZXsc

International human resource management: managing people in a multinational: http://books.google.co.in/books?id=LVG2BUQs_ygC&pg=PA110&lpg=PA110&dq=Global+m anager+myth&source=bl&ots=BmgatOuyd7&sig=3kkBskI_tPpjd0JWMDPGbJQ12A&hl=en&ei=4tieTu61BYqHrAfgvfixCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10& ved=0CGUQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=Global%20manager%20myth&f=false

Global Manager: The Needed Skills http://www.businessgyan.com/node/1005

The End Is Where We Start From: http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/letter-from-aroon-purie/1/11667.html